Recipe - Kurma

One half Mediumsized (4 oz/100
Grammes) aubergine, cut
Into
Threequarter inch by half
Inch (2 cm x 1 cm sticks)
2 small Carrots (4 oz/100 grammes),
Peeled and cut into
Threequarter inch by half
Inch (2 cm x 1 cm sticks)
4 ounce (100 grammes) peas
4 ounce (100 grammes) French beans,
Cut into 1 inch (2 and a
Half
Cm) pieces
1 Mediumsized potato (4 ounce x
100 Grammes), peeled and cut
Into
Threequarter inch by half
Inch (2 cm x 1 cm sticks)
2 ounce (50 grammes) fresh grated
Coconut
4 Fresh hot green chillies
2 tablespoon White poppy seeds
Quarter tsp salt
3 Mediumsized tomatoes,
Roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Natural (plain) yoghurt
1 teaspoon Garam masala
2 tablespoon Chopped, fresh green
Coriander

Place the aubergine, carrots, peas, French beans and potato in a
mediumsized saucepan. Add 8fl ounce (250ml) water. Bring to the boil. Cover,
turn the heat to medium and cook for four minutes or until the vegetables
are just tender.

Meanwhile put the coconut, chillies, poppy seeds and salt in an electric
blender. Add 5 fluid ounces (150 ml) water and grind to a fine paste. Set
aside.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the spice paste and 5 fluid ounces (150
ml) water. Stir and simmer gently for five minutes. Add the tomatoes,
yoghurt and garam masala. Stir gently to mix well. Bring to the boil and
simmer gently for 2 3 minutes. Turn into a serving dish and garnish with
the fresh coriander.

TIPS

If you wish to substitute unsweetened, desiccated coconut for fresh coconut
use 5 tbsps (1 oz/30 grammes). Barely cover with warm water and leave for
one hour, then proceed with the recipe.

Coriander is the parsley of India. Mix it with vegetables and chicken, use
as a garnish and add the stems to soup and dals for extra flavour. To keep
coriander fresh, stand sprigs in a glass of water, cover with a plastic bag
and keep in the fridge.

Kurma

Westerners who come to Madras, Tamil Nadu's capital city, expecting to find
meals made with "Madras" curry powder are in for a surprise. Curry powders
manufactured in this southern Indian city are strictly for export. Aromatic
spices, fennel seeds and fresh coconut are the ingredients that give the
superb cuisine of Tamil Nadu its flavour and texture.

For this dish, vegetables are "dressed" with a ground paste of fresh
coconut, poppy seeds and green chillies, which is cooked briefly with the
vegetables so that it is absorbed by them. The dish is best served with
plain rice and you could also serve it as an accompaniment to a meat dish.

Copyright of the British Broadcasting Corporation

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini